Emma Levitt

Emma Levitt is a final year PhD student studying at the University of Huddersfield. Her work focuses on masculine displays in the medieval tournament and the rise of jousting men at the courts of Edward IV and Henry VIII. Emma was the recipient of the 2014 Richard III society prize and published an article in the September issue of the Ricardian Bulletin 2015. Following her grant success Emma was interviewed for Research Fortnight for an article that detailed her experience of securing a grant as an early-career researcher and offered advice to others at a similar career stage.

Emma’s work on Henry VIII’s surviving jousting cheques has already attracted national media attention with articles being published in The Daily Telegraph and Times newspaper. Emma was also invited to do an interview on BBC World Series Radio Newshour that discussed her archival findings in a segment entitled ‘Jousting Your way to the Top’. Emma published an article on these score cheques in the August issue of the BBC History Magazine 2015 ‘How jousting made a man of Henry VIII’.

Most recently BBC History Extra has featured Emma’s article in connection with new research that suggests Henry VIII suffered a brain injury whilst jousting. Emma’s forthcoming pieces include an article in History Today magazine on famed jouster and knight errant Anthony Woodville, earl Rivers brother-in-law of King Edward IV.